Ladd McConkey would have been a Vol…..

[Chickenfarmer]

McConkey grew in the Tennessee/ Georgia border county of Murray in NW Georgia. His dad was a standout QB for Dalton Catamounts in the early 90s. The McConkey family bleeds or used to bleed Big Orange. As a skinny, undersized wide receiver at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, GA, McConkey was not recruited by any D1 schools. His dream was to play in Neyland Stadium one day. No offers came from Knoxville.

About two weeks before National Signing Day, Kirby Smart became interested in this relatively unknown receiver. McConkey thought he was being pranked when he heard Georgia was interested. Maybe Coach Pruitt will answer with a call. Nothing from Knoxville. Kirby shows up at one of Ladd’s high school basketball games and makes the offer to come to UGA.

Being a Volunteer family, McConkey makes an unofficial visit to the University of Tennessee to see if CJP might be interested before accepting the Georgia offer. The best they can do is allow him to become a walk-on. McConkey goes on to sign with Georgia and contributes to our butt whooping in Athens this year along with another Natty Title. It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic. Pruitt and company missed out on a winner.

Can you imagine if we would have had McConkey lined up with Hyatt, Bru, Keyton and Tillman the past two seasons? Hooker would have been even more amazing with the additional talent he would have provided. Can you imagine if McConkey would have not been in a red jersey on November 5th? Ifs and Buts.

The moral of the story is Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation. CJH has put together recruits for what he needs to make this team better. We have some Stars and we have role players that will produce where needed most. CJH will prove himself during the next two seasons. Higher rated players will continue to sign with us. Yes, Stars do matter. Just look at Alabama and Georgia caliber of athletes across the field and on the bench. But, the most important factor is a coaching staff that can assess talent and develop it into Winners. Go Big Orange!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Very, very well said.

Thanks for this.

Go Vols!

 

[EconVol92]

You can add Trevor Lawrence, Tajh Boyd and Tee Higgins to that list among others.

To clarify Higgins didn't come because of Butch, but the other two were told they were not wanted.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

McConkey grew in the Tennessee/ Georgia border county of Murray in NW Georgia. His dad was a standout QB for Dalton Catamounts in the early 90s. The McConkey family bleeds or used to bleed Big Orange. As a skinny, undersized wide receiver at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, GA, McConkey was not recruited by any D1 schools. His dream was to play in Neyland Stadium one day. No offers came from Knoxville.

About two weeks before National Signing Day, Kirby Smart became interested in this relatively unknown receiver. McConkey thought he was being pranked when he heard Georgia was interested. Maybe Coach Pruitt will answer with a call. Nothing from Knoxville. Kirby shows up at one of Ladd’s high school basketball games and makes the offer to come to UGA.

Being a Volunteer family, McConkey makes an unofficial visit to the University of Tennessee to see if CJP might be interested before accepting the Georgia offer. The best they can do is allow him to become a walk-on. McConkey goes on to sign with Georgia and contributes to our butt whooping in Athens this year along with another Natty Title. It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic. Pruitt and company missed out on a winner.

Can you imagine if we would have had McConkey lined up with Hyatt, Bru, Keyton and Tillman the past two seasons? Hooker would have been even more amazing with the additional talent he would have provided. Can you imagine if McConkey would have not been in a red jersey on November 5th? Ifs and Buts.

The moral of the story is Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation. CJH has put together recruits for what he needs to make this team better. We have some Stars and we have role players that will produce where needed most. CJH will prove himself during the next two seasons. Higher rated players will continue to sign with us. Yes, Stars do matter. Just look at Alabama and Georgia caliber of athletes across the field and on the bench. But, the most important factor is a coaching staff that can assess talent and develop it into Winners. Go Big Orange!

MCConkey would not have started here under Heupel.

 

[KnoxRealtorVOL]

MCConkey would not have started here under Heupel.

Correct

 

[wmcovol]

Didnt Peanutbrain also pass on offering Mitchell from Cane Ridge?

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Tbf, Pruitt did aggressively recruit Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman when a lot of other schools weren't interested.

Tillman was very lightly recruited. His only other offers were UNLV, Hawai'i, and Weber State.

Hyatt did receive more attention, but was weirdly passed over by both Clemson and South Carolina (in spite of playing a few miles from there), as well as almost all the other SEC schools, and even many of the ACC schools.

It would've been great to get McConkey, but if we're being honest, talent evaluation is difficult and no one is ever going to get things right all the time. Our WR recruiting was actually pretty good under Pruitt (thanks in part to Tee Martin). Pruitt screwed up a lot of things, but WR recruiting was not one of them!

 

[wmcovol]

Tbf, Pruitt did aggressively recruit Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman when a lot of other schools weren't interested.

Tillman was very lightly recruited. His only other offers were UNLV, Hawai'i, and Weber State.

Hyatt did receive more attention, but was weirdly passed over by both Clemson and South Carolina (in spite of playing a few miles from there), as well as almost all the other SEC schools, and even many of the ACC schools.

It would've been great to get McConkey, but if we're being honest, talent evaluation is difficult and no one is ever going to get things right all the time. Our WR recruiting was actually pretty good under Pruitt (thanks in part to Tee Martin).

Actually, Tillman was referred to Tyson Helton by his brother since USC didnt have room for him. Like Hooker, Pruitt woke up one morning, took a dump and someone laid 2 great football players in his lap.

 

[DougVol]

McConkey grew in the Tennessee/ Georgia border county of Murray in NW Georgia. His dad was a standout QB for Dalton Catamounts in the early 90s. The McConkey family bleeds or used to bleed Big Orange. As a skinny, undersized wide receiver at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, GA, McConkey was not recruited by any D1 schools. His dream was to play in Neyland Stadium one day. No offers came from Knoxville.

About two weeks before National Signing Day, Kirby Smart became interested in this relatively unknown receiver. McConkey thought he was being pranked when he heard Georgia was interested. Maybe Coach Pruitt will answer with a call. Nothing from Knoxville. Kirby shows up at one of Ladd’s high school basketball games and makes the offer to come to UGA.

Being a Volunteer family, McConkey makes an unofficial visit to the University of Tennessee to see if CJP might be interested before accepting the Georgia offer. The best they can do is allow him to become a walk-on. McConkey goes on to sign with Georgia and contributes to our butt whooping in Athens this year along with another Natty Title. It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic. Pruitt and company missed out on a winner.

Can you imagine if we would have had McConkey lined up with Hyatt, Bru, Keyton and Tillman the past two seasons? Hooker would have been even more amazing with the additional talent he would have provided. Can you imagine if McConkey would have not been in a red jersey on November 5th? Ifs and Buts.

The moral of the story is Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation. CJH has put together recruits for what he needs to make this team better. We have some Stars and we have role players that will produce where needed most. CJH will prove himself during the next two seasons. Higher rated players will continue to sign with us. Yes, Stars do matter. Just look at Alabama and Georgia caliber of athletes across the field and on the bench. But, the most important factor is a coaching staff that can assess talent and develop it into Winners. Go Big Orange!

If if’s and buts were candy and nuts, my teeth would fall out.

 

[JRich]

Geez, guys… everyone gets a shot and it’s up to them to make the most of it. That’s the general concept of our nation. Great story, but who knows if he would have had the same level of success at UT? Honestly, if he didn’t crack the top 3, he probably wouldn’t have saw the field that much under CJH. With Tillman, Hyatt, and Bru (all NFL WR’s), it would have been tough for him.

I’ll add, if the guy went somewhere else, UGA would have someone good enough to take his place, maybe someone in Florida’s backyard that they overlooked. These stories can be found everywhere.

 

[cwbytruckers]

Im not worried about star ratings. 3 stars can be coached into better players. Weight room can make players stronger. Just look how many 3 stars have succeeded in the NFL. Dont get me wrong I understand you need 5 and 4 star talent out of high school and you can wait until the are developed to win consistently in the SEC. But if CJH believes in a kid i trust his judgement.

 

[supersmo18]

As someone who works in Dalton, GA and is very familiar with the McConkey family, I can tell you that Pruitt did offer, but there was a staunch disagreement between Pruitt and Chaney, in that Chaney wanted Ladd to play DB (he's also a very talented DB) but Pruitt wanted him at WR, where Chaney didn't. They made a preferred walk-on offer, and then Kirby came up to watch him play Basketball and also then made him a committable offer to UGA.

Yes, Ladd is all Dawg now and bleeds red and black, but he's still got a soft spot for UT, as does his family. It's nothing personal at all. But had we offered him with a committable scholly, he would've been in big orange. He's a great kid and I loved watching him play in high school.

 

[JRich]

It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic.

Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation.

Make no mistake, the stars matter. Kirby Smart isn't the Bill Belichik of the college football world. He is successful because he is loaded with quality football players and his offensive and defensive lines are incredible year after year. Players like McConkey and Bennett look good because of that. They are the exception, not the norm. McConkey made a living running 40 yards down field - because the offensive line gave him time to do that.

Success for these players, and players like them, is very unlikely in the NFL because of the parity in the league. College football does not have parity.

 

[Carp]

McConkey grew in the Tennessee/ Georgia border county of Murray in NW Georgia. His dad was a standout QB for Dalton Catamounts in the early 90s. The McConkey family bleeds or used to bleed Big Orange. As a skinny, undersized wide receiver at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, GA, McConkey was not recruited by any D1 schools. His dream was to play in Neyland Stadium one day. No offers came from Knoxville.

About two weeks before National Signing Day, Kirby Smart became interested in this relatively unknown receiver. McConkey thought he was being pranked when he heard Georgia was interested. Maybe Coach Pruitt will answer with a call. Nothing from Knoxville. Kirby shows up at one of Ladd’s high school basketball games and makes the offer to come to UGA.

Being a Volunteer family, McConkey makes an unofficial visit to the University of Tennessee to see if CJP might be interested before accepting the Georgia offer. The best they can do is allow him to become a walk-on. McConkey goes on to sign with Georgia and contributes to our butt whooping in Athens this year along with another Natty Title. It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic. Pruitt and company missed out on a winner.

Can you imagine if we would have had McConkey lined up with Hyatt, Bru, Keyton and Tillman the past two seasons? Hooker would have been even more amazing with the additional talent he would have provided. Can you imagine if McConkey would have not been in a red jersey on November 5th? Ifs and Buts.

The moral of the story is Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation. CJH has put together recruits for what he needs to make this team better. We have some Stars and we have role players that will produce where needed most. CJH will prove himself during the next two seasons. Higher rated players will continue to sign with us. Yes, Stars do matter. Just look at Alabama and Georgia caliber of athletes across the field and on the bench. But, the most important factor is a coaching staff that can assess talent and develop it into Winners. Go Big Orange!

Not really losing any sleep over Ladd McConkey. Glad he's finding success in UGA's offense. I don't think he's better than the majority of the WRs that have been on this team over the past 3 years. At best, he would have been WR No. 5 on this year's squad. Probably more like 6 or 7.

 

[WillisWG]

If he had come to Tennessee, he'd be in the transfer portal by now. He's where he needs to be, the # 2 target behind Bowers.

 

[valoisvol]

These stories are a dime a dozen. Happens all the time

 

[cardvolfan]

McConkey grew in the Tennessee/ Georgia border county of Murray in NW Georgia. His dad was a standout QB for Dalton Catamounts in the early 90s. The McConkey family bleeds or used to bleed Big Orange. As a skinny, undersized wide receiver at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, GA, McConkey was not recruited by any D1 schools. His dream was to play in Neyland Stadium one day. No offers came from Knoxville.

About two weeks before National Signing Day, Kirby Smart became interested in this relatively unknown receiver. McConkey thought he was being pranked when he heard Georgia was interested. Maybe Coach Pruitt will answer with a call. Nothing from Knoxville. Kirby shows up at one of Ladd’s high school basketball games and makes the offer to come to UGA.

Being a Volunteer family, McConkey makes an unofficial visit to the University of Tennessee to see if CJP might be interested before accepting the Georgia offer. The best they can do is allow him to become a walk-on. McConkey goes on to sign with Georgia and contributes to our butt whooping in Athens this year along with another Natty Title. It’s not always about the 4 or 5 Stars ratings. Kirby recognized pure talent and work ethic. Pruitt and company missed out on a winner.

Can you imagine if we would have had McConkey lined up with Hyatt, Bru, Keyton and Tillman the past two seasons? Hooker would have been even more amazing with the additional talent he would have provided. Can you imagine if McConkey would have not been in a red jersey on November 5th? Ifs and Buts.

The moral of the story is Kirby Smart knew what he needed and Stars didn’t enter into the equation. CJH has put together recruits for what he needs to make this team better. We have some Stars and we have role players that will produce where needed most. CJH will prove himself during the next two seasons. Higher rated players will continue to sign with us. Yes, Stars do matter. Just look at Alabama and Georgia caliber of athletes across the field and on the bench. But, the most important factor is a coaching staff that can assess talent and develop it into Winners. Go Big Orange!

That is truly a terrific story. I’m so glad this “unknown” player had success. Sorry he wasn’t a Vol, but wow, he won 2 national championships. I will say that while he wasn’t super spectacular, he was certainly more than a role player. I was curious as to his speed? Do you happen to know his numbers? He seems quick and shifty.

 

[Chickenfarmer]

I know of two local 4 Star tight ends that are so lazy their high school coaches do not scheme around them much. These kids have the body, speed and pass catching abilities to be game changers. Both will sign with big time football programs. I will be surprised if either one starts/plays on Saturdays.

The rule in recruiting is speed and size. If you’re slow and skinny you probably always will be regardless of how hard you work. If you’re big and fast the Univ of Football will get you bigger and faster. Coaches will always take a chance on a fast, tall and powerful prospect that lacks motivation, thinking they can change his heart and mind. Sometimes it works and often it does not.
That is one of the great things about the portal and transfers being simpler now. Under-recruited guys that develop and mature at a DII or DIII School get recognized and move up to DI and these studs that lack motivation can move down to a smaller program and hopefully continue their education and football career.
Size matters! Bigger chickens lay bigger eggs.

 

[VOLnVANDYland]

MCConkey would not have started here under Heupel.

Yup, he would have been behind Bru, Hyatt and Tillman. Maybe had a KEYTON type role, maybe

 

[Chickenfarmer]

That is truly a terrific story. I’m so glad this “unknown” player had success. Sorry he wasn’t a Vol, but wow, he won 2 national championships. I will say that while he wasn’t super spectacular, he was certainly more than a role player. I was curious as to his speed? Do you happen to know his numbers? He seems quick and shifty.

4.4? Laser timed 40.

 

[knox73]

Well we had Walker Merrill who is also an underrated high quality receiver. Sometimes a guy just fits an offense and clicks - sometimes he doesn't. Vols play fewer receivers than most teams and kids can get lost in the shuffle.

 

[rocky top buzz]

I mean, how many players have come to UT who grew up bleeding red and black but were ignored by uga? Eric Berry is probably the first to come to mind. Granted, I don't know if uga highly pusued him or not, or if he was a uga fan. But of all the kids we have pulled from Georgia over the years I have to imagine a bunch wanted to go to uga but were ignored.

Jeremy Pruitt was a terrible coach by most metrics, but he made one statement that is 100% true and still sticks with me to this day. When asked about missing out on recruits who went elsewhere he said something to the effect "Lets worry about the ones we do get, and not worry about the ones we don't get. "

 

[VolInNW]

Actually, Tillman was referred to Tyson Helton by his brother since USC didnt have room for him. Like Hooker, Pruitt woke up one morning, took a dump and someone laid 2 great football players in his lap.

So, you’re saying that although it might appear that he dun reel gud, it was luck more than him having dun reel gud??

Among the other good things about Heupel, I’m grateful the guy can properly conjugate verbs and string together a sentence without 5 “uh’s” and closing with ‘aight. It was kinda fun at first, but once you realized that Slingblade McGump just wasn’t that bright, his ego and ‘country’ speaking style just became tiresome.

 

[butchna]

MCConkey would not have started here under Heupel.

Would have hand fought Walker Merrill for scraps.

 

[Woke]

Tbf, Pruitt did aggressively recruit Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman when a lot of other schools weren't interested.

Tillman was very lightly recruited. His only other offers were UNLV, Hawai'i, and Weber State.

Hyatt did receive more attention, but was weirdly passed over by both Clemson and South Carolina (in spite of playing a few miles from there), as well as almost all the other SEC schools, and even many of the ACC schools.

It would've been great to get McConkey, but if we're being honest, talent evaluation is difficult and no one is ever going to get things right all the time. Our WR recruiting was actually pretty good under Pruitt (thanks in part to Tee Martin). Pruitt screwed up a lot of things, but WR recruiting was not one of them!

Tbf neither Tillman nor Hyatt would have developed into NFL prospects under any other Tennessee coach other than Heupel. IMO